After Closing on Thanksgiving, Mall of America Sees Busiest Day on Record

The decision made by Mall of America officials to close Thanksgiving Day this year appears to have paid off. After closing on Thanksgiving for the first time in years, Mall of America officials reported the busiest day on record Friday.

The nation's largest mall had been open on Thanksgiving every year prior since 2012, but mall officials said they wanted to offer workers time with their families this year.

After closing Thursday, the Mall of America opened its doors at 5 a.m. for Black Friday, greeting guests with giveaways, entertainment, and shopping deals to kick off the holiday season.

"Black Friday was our busiest day on record where we saw approximately 250,000 guests from opening at 5 a.m. to closing at 10 p.m. that evening," read a statement from mall officials. "We had a line of about 1500 guests all the way out to IKEA eagerly waiting to begin their holiday shopping on Black Friday."

"Traffic was significantly up Saturday and Sunday as well."

Image via Cliff, Flickr, used under Creative Commons